Agreed, the mirror is really not that hard to clean. We had a mirror backsplash behind the sink and it really opened up and brightened a cramped space with zero natural light.

oooooh! mirrors! double the clutter!

Plain mirrors seem the best solution - much more light, apparent space. The tiny mirror tiles, patterned & cut glass mirrors just seem so much more cluttered. Ick.

@rapidtransitman

Having had mirrored backsplashes in apartments past, I'd agree. Though honestly the worst for me were still electrical fixtures, as they just interrupted everything (even though they were mirrored).

I'd go with brushed stainless steel mosaic or penny tiles instead of mirrored ones.

Yes, I'm in agreement. The tiled mirrored backsplashes do make everything seem a bit more cluttered. Too many reflections!

although i quite like the look, i cook a lot, and yes, yes, yes, it's easy to clean, but it's a surface you have to clean all the bloody time. with plain tiles or a mosaic, you don't see every single little drop or squirt. with mirror, you do. it's enough to worry about with the bathroom mirror.

What about glass instead? Glossy, clean, and not nearly as reflective.

When house hunting I saw a kitchen that looked swell from photos but was a nightmare in person! It looked so cheap and shoddy up close!! The backsplash was a mirror, and it looked AWFUL!!!

These kitchens don't look so bad at all, but I'd prefer little tiles (not mirror though).

Beautiful in theory, but sadly not so much in practice.

I'm really liking the patterned ones, especially the last two. And the tiled version in #3 looks much better than the version in #8 The best use of the mirrors seem to be when the space is more like #6 with cabinets above.

I wouldn't mind the constant cleanup, it would help me to keep up my kitchen better anyways. Motivation :)

Darn you AT! You keep doing posts like these and I keep thinking I want it in my space!

i love the refracted mirrors.

love the mirrored blacksplash...super subtle way of opening up a room. I hardly even noticed them at first.

But enough about the backsplash...Does anyone know where I can get an aluminum rolling island like the one in the first picture???

ha, ha, yes, the entire kitchen looks in the main pic does sort of morgue-ish.

I have no backsplash. Just a crisp, white wall with washable paint. I love the "unfussiness" of it!

I love this idea! I've never seen it before, and was super excited when I saw this post. What a way to open up a small kitchen!

That said, I also like the idea of white washable paint - what a lovely, simple idea.

I do like the idea of using reflective materials for a backspalsh, but not plain mirror.

The mirrored tile in #3 and the foxed/antiqued mirrors in #10 above are probably my favourites of this bunch, because they don't just provide a straightforward reflection of worktop clutter and wouldn't require the constant cleaning to look good that plain mirror would demand.

The complaints that mirrored backsplash would require more cleaning because dirt/grime would be easier to see seems odd to me, especially coming from the uber-clean contingent around here. Don't ALL backsplashes require constant cleaning and wouldn't seeing it be better than not seeing it? And cleaning it more often would result in a cleaner kitchen with less grime and greasy build up? Just asking...

Someone want to tell me how they took the second photo? It's a little creepy, realizing there's a mirror but no reflection of the photographer or even the camera.

Probably photoshop. Still.

I have mirrored backsplashes in my small NYC kitchen and love them. They open the space, add light and are easy to clean, spritz and wipe. It's not so easy to get tomato sauce out of the grout of a tiled backsplash. You also end up wiping the splatter into the grout unless you clean the tiles individually. Love 'em.

I have a mirrored backsplash and the only place I find it annoying is by the sink, because the splashes from dishes make it look splattered constantly. everywhere else, it's no problem.

@failjolesfail:

Nice catch! Gotta be Photoshop, but it IS kinda creepy.